When Federal Cuts Hit, Did Foundations Meet the Moment?
Millions in pledged foundation grants stabilized nonprofits hit by federal cuts, but did not fill the gap.
When federal cuts hit the National Endowment for the Humanities, Illinois Humanities lost about $2 million — roughly one-third of its operating budget. The Chicago nonprofit closed two staff positions, paused and reduced programming, and eliminated a planned grantmaking initiative.
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Then the MacArthur Foundation stepped in with a $1 million unrestricted grant. The award wasn’t tied to any specific funding disruption at Illinois Humanities, but it helped stabilize the organization, preserve some operations and community investments, and buy time while the group worked to diversify its funding. Still, it did not replace what was lost.
Illinois Humanities’ experience reflects a broader pattern. Last year, MinistryWatch reported that more than 150 organizations had signed a pledge urging grantmakers to extend support and send fresh funds to nonprofits hit hard by federal cuts. The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project’s Meet the Moment campaign called on funders to boost grantmaking budgets, provide multiyear unrestricted support, simplify approvals, and stay flexible on timing as nonprofits faced cash shortages from federal freezes and other disruptions.
More than a year later, MinistryWatch’s follow-up reporting found a mixed record. Foundations moved substantial money. Some grantees said the funding helped preserve capacity, stabilize operations, and provide legal support — or that it gave them more room to navigate a disrupted funding environment.
But in the cases MinistryWatch documented, the money generally did not replace the federal funding that disappeared. Several foundations also could not or would not provide full recipient-level data showing where the money went, how much directly addressed federal cuts, or what measurable impact it had.
MinistryWatch contacted several of the larger foundations tied to the pledge. Of those, the Hewlett Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Skoll Foundation and the McGregor Fund responded. Unless otherwise noted, the figures and descriptions below come from written responses from foundations and grantees. MinistryWatch also asked organizations that received funding from these foundations for grant-level details, recipient lists and evidence of impact. Some provided examples; others declined or did not respond.
Hewlett: Faster Cash and Crisis Support
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation told MinistryWatch it made $50 million in additional cash available in 2025 to respond to urgent needs. But Hewlett said the money did not increase its total grant awards for the year — instead, it accelerated payments on some new grants and pulled forward payments on existing multiyear grants across program areas.
Hewlett’s board separately approved $20 million in additional crisis-oriented support, drawn from its annual pool of unallocated funds. The foundation also reduced reporting requirements, adjusted timelines and deliverables, and in some cases converted project-based grants to unrestricted support.
Hewlett said it could not provide a full list of recipients because the grants weren’t tagged in a way that would let it pull that data. It offered examples instead.
One was the Flowminder Foundation, which received an accelerated $500,000 unrestricted payment from Hewlett in June 2025. Flowminder, a nonprofit that uses mobile data, satellite imagery, and household survey data to support humanitarian and public health response, said the payment helped it manage cash flow and retain staff after the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID) cut its funding — though the organization still had to downsize.
Managing Director Daniel Power told MinistryWatch that Hewlett’s support came at a “critical time” after the USAID cuts and contributed directly to Flowminder’s ability to support the Ebola response in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Flowminder said in a background note that the support preserved capacity later used for mobility-data analysis in the 2026 Ebola response, citing a World Health Organization official who said the data helped responders track the outbreak’s spread and target surveillance gaps.
MinistryWatch also contacted other Hewlett grantees cited as examples. Urgent Action Fund Africa said its grant is still active and it hasn’t yet assessed the results. Others did not respond or did not answer follow-up questions.
MacArthur: Big Numbers, Limited Tracking
In February 2025, the MacArthur Foundation announced its “Set It at Six” commitment to raise its charitable payout to at least 6% in 2025 and 2026 amid federal cuts and pressure on nonprofits.
MacArthur told MinistryWatch it disbursed $60 million in grants and gifts above its original 2025 budget, most of it going to affected organizations along with new grantees working on democracy, the rule of law and civil society. But the foundation said it lacks data showing how much of that money was tied specifically to federal cuts, freezes or delays, and it isn’t tracking organization-level outcomes such as layoffs avoided, programs preserved or services maintained.
MacArthur said its response included accelerated and flexible support for existing and new grantees based on need, with a focus on fortifying current grantees, contributing to multifunder efforts, and backing strategies to defend democracy, civil society and the charitable sector.
The foundation later clarified that the $60 million reported as of August 2025 is part of its broader $190 million increase in 2025 charitable spending, not in addition to it. MacArthur’s website lists estimated 2025 charitable spending, including program-related investments, at $647 million, compared with an original budget of $457 million.
MacArthur pointed to seven “illustrative and representative” grants totaling $5.25 million: $500,000 to Accountability Lab, $250,000 to Activating Change, $1 million to the Chicago Bar Foundation, $1 million to Illinois Humanities, $1 million to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, $500,000 to the Student Press Law Center, and $1 million to the Urban Institute.
The Chicago Bar Foundation said it wasn’t itself a direct federal funding recipient, but many of its nonprofit partners faced federal losses or uncertainty. MacArthur’s $1 million grant helped create the Nonprofit Legal Support Project, which offers legal advice and representation to Illinois nonprofits facing federal action, and the Nonprofit Resilience Hub. The grant, otherwise unrestricted, was initially for one year with flexibility to extend.
“They (MacArthur) could not have been better partners,” Chicago Bar Executive Director Bob Glaves told MinistryWatch. “We believe that the services provided through the Nonprofit Legal Support Project this grant made possible helped to reverse threatened federal funding freezes or cuts for dozens of nonprofits.”
At Illinois Humanities, help went only so far. MacArthur’s $1 million unrestricted grant stabilized the organization after the NEH cuts but didn’t replace what was lost. “While this award was not intended to — nor sufficient to — address the funding gap created by the NEH terminations, it enabled us to respond to emerging needs, maintain our existing work, and remain focused on our mission,” the organization said, adding it was “deeply appreciative” of MacArthur’s investment. The funding helped the group keep delivering programs and grant support across the state during a difficult period for the humanities sector, it said.
Other MacArthur grantees offered less detail. Accountability Lab declined to discuss specifics of individual grants — funder, amount, restrictions or supported work — citing a general policy across its funding relationships. It said it receives support across several active initiatives, including its public Global Aid Freeze Tracker. The Urban Institute likewise cited a policy against discussing individual grants and pointed MinistryWatch to public financial information on its website.
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Skoll: Emergency Money for Adaptation
The Skoll Foundation referred MinistryWatch to its 2026 CEO Impact Letter, which said the foundation disbursed $28.1 million through its Pivot Fund, using emergency grants and “pivot” funding to help partners respond to immediate funding shocks and adapt their operating models long-term.
That total was $3.1 million more than the $25 million emergency fund previously reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. In the letter, Skoll said partners reported $305 million in global funding losses and $74 million in domestic losses. The letter described grantee adaptations including new revenue models, local leadership shifts, technology tools and mergers.
While Skoll provided a Pivot Fund total and public examples in its CEO letter, it did not give MinistryWatch a full grant list, recipient-level amounts, or data on whether the funding prevented layoffs, preserved programs or maintained services.
Skoll shared one example: the merger of the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts and Capitals Coalition. Rob Zochowski, formerly of IFVI and now executive director of Capitals Coalition, told MinistryWatch that the precise terms of the group’s agreement with Skoll are confidential and said he couldn’t share details beyond what Skoll had already described.
Help, But Not a Full Accounting
The Freedom Together Foundation and the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The McGregor Fund said its grantmaking focuses primarily on organizations serving Detroit and the surrounding region, and it had no grantmaking response specifically tied to USAID cuts.
Still, the foundations that did respond showed meaningful activity. Hewlett adjusted payment timing and flexibility and created a crisis-oriented pool. MacArthur exceeded its original 2025 budget and funded legal, civic, humanities and civil-rights groups. Skoll moved more than $28 million through emergency and adaptation funding.
But the record also shows real limits. Several foundations did not provide complete grant lists. Some did not track organization-level outcomes. Some grantees declined to say how they used foundation support.
In the examples MinistryWatch documented, the grants helped nonprofits buy time, shift strategy, preserve staff capacity, stabilize operations, or defend against disruption. But they did not replace the federal funding that was lost.
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